Run: 2026-02-17-01KHMPADVXAW8DWC25YWHXZCKS

Run Details

Duration:
19.6s
Cost:
$0.018202
Provider:
Azure

Model input

System
You are an expert novelist with a gift for vivid, immersive prose. You write in tight third-person limited point of view with a strong narrative voice. Your prose is clean, precise, and engaging — you favor strong verbs, concrete details, and natural-sounding dialogue. You will be given a story bible (codex) containing canonical details about characters, locations, items, and lore. Use these details to ground your writing in the established world. Stay consistent with the codex. Write only the prose of the scene. Do not include titles, chapter headings, markdown formatting, or any commentary before or after the scene.
User/Human
<codex> <character id="4412" name="Aurora Carter" aliases="Rory, Laila, Aurora, Carter, Malphora" pronouns="she/her" species="Human" storyRole="Protagonist"> <eyeColor>bright blue</eyeColor> <hair>straight shoulder-length black</hair> <height>5'6"</height> <age>25</age> <scar>small crescent-shaped scar on her left wrist from a childhood accident</scar> <description>Aurora, referred to by her friends as Rory, is cool-headed, intelligent, and known for quick out-of-the-box thinking.</description> <backstory>Born in Cardiff to an Irish barrister father (Brendan Carter) and Welsh teacher mother (Jennifer Carter née Ellis), Rory reluctantly pursued Pre-Law at Cardiff University. She fled to London at the behest of her childhood friend Eva after leaving an abusive ex named Evan. By day, Rory works part-time as a delivery person for Yu-Fei Cheung's Golden Empress restaurant. She lives in a flat above Silas' bar.</backstory> </character> <character id="4413" name="Silas Blackwood" aliases="Silas, Si, the Spymaster" pronouns="he/him" species="Human" storyRole="Mentor"> <eyeColor>hazel</eyeColor> <hair>grey-streaked auburn</hair> <height>6'1"</height> <age>58</age> <beard>neatly trimmed, matching his grey-streaked auburn hair</beard> <limp>slight limp in his left leg from an old knee injury</limp> <signetRing>silver signet ring, always worn on his right hand</signetRing> <description>Silas is a retired intelligence operative turned bar owner. He carries himself with quiet authority.</description> <backstory>Former MI6 field agent who retired after a botched operation in Prague left him with a permanent knee injury. He opened "The Raven's Nest" bar in Soho as a front for his network of contacts.</backstory> </character> <location id="854" name="The Raven's Nest" aliases="the Nest, Raven, Silas' bar" realm="Earth"> <signColor>distinctive green neon sign above the entrance</signColor> <secretRoom>hidden back room accessible through a bookshelf, used for clandestine meetings</secretRoom> <description>A dimly lit bar in Soho, London. The walls are covered with old maps and black-and-white photographs.</description> </location> </codex> Write a fully fleshed out scene of at least 1000 words in the literary fiction genre. Two old friends who haven't seen each other in years run into each other unexpectedly at a bar. One of them has changed significantly. Through their conversation and the tension between who they were and who they've become, reveal the weight of time and unspoken regret. Use the codex entries above as your world reference for characters and setting. Only include the prose of the scene without any markdown or commentary.

Model response

AI
The Raven's Nest exuded the familiar scent of aged oak and faint tobacco, clinging to the skin like a worn leather jacket. Its distinctive green neon sign, flickering softly above the entrance like a sentinel, marked this corner of Soho as Silas Blackwood’s domain. Inside, the bar hummed with the low murmur of conversation, punctuated by the quiet clink of glasses, as if the old maps and photographs on the walls had absorbed the secrets whispered over the years. Aurora Carter entered with the practiced air of someone stepping over threshold and memory, her bright blue eyes scanning the room. Rory, to those who knew her, felt the comforting weight of the secrets engraved in her skin and below the small crescent scar on her left wrist. She was here to collect an envelope silenced by its contents, a routine walk through Silas’ world. The familiar tug of obligation brought her to the bar's edge. Silas stood behind the counter, his lean form moving with a grace incongruous with the limp that tugged at his left knee. A veteran postured in repose, he poured a measure of whiskey, his weathered hands sure and steady. The silver signet ring on his right hand caught the light with each motion, a relic of his past life nested within the ceaseless hum of present. “Rory,” he greeted her in a voice as smooth as the whiskey he dispensed, the warmth in his hazel eyes offset by the coolness of their surroundings. “Your usual delivery?” She nodded, tucking a stray strand of black hair behind her ear. “Just in time for the weekend bit of fun, Si.” Her voice was light, a deliberate counterpoint to the agitated pulse beneath her collected facade. But tonight, the hum of secrets was interrupted by a presence seated at the end of the bar. At first, he was a silhouette in the dim lighting, a figure of inattentive repose. Then, as Silas moved to greet him with the practised ease of old camaraderie, the shadows relented, and Rory froze at the rush of recognition. Daniel Pierce. The name unfurled in her mind, rustling with the complete discomfort of unfinished stories. He looked older—gaunter, with a newfound solemnity in the planes of his face. His hair, once a rebellious tangle of dark curls, was now shorn close to his scalp, emphasizing the sharp cut of his features. His presence in this bar was unexpected, turning the mechanics of their eventual meeting from a forgotten burden into immediate reality. “Danny?” The name escaped her lips before caution could contain it. He looked up, eyes narrowing through the dim light. Recognition bloomed slowly, like dawn over a familiar landscape, his lips parting with a breath of disbelief. “Rory?” Time, as it were, slumped briefly on its heels, the years stretching taut between them until they snapped back into this moment. “How long has it been?” she asked, sliding onto the stool beside him, the ice between them only beginning to thaw. “Too long.” His voice was richer than she remembered, seasoned with an undertone of loss and a hint of raspiness. “I didn’t expect to find you here.” “Raven's good for unplanned meetings,” she replied, a gentle jest coloring her observation. She drummed her fingers absently on the bar's worn surface, the rhythm reminding her of past colds shared, of laughter ringing sharper than disappointment. His eyes hardened slightly, a well-trained mask slipping back into place. “I thought you'd be wearing one of those posh solicitor's suits by now.” The flash of old regret twisted something inside her. She looked at him squarely, weighing the choices she wore as easily as her worn leather jacket. “And I thought you’d still have hair.” The corners of his mouth quirked upward, and for a moment, the years dissolved into youthful camaraderie, into the echoes of streetlamps and stories shared. The unsophisticated charm of their lives tangling apart and together, filled with the unwelcome haircuts and chance encounters, loitered between them. Silas, ever perceptive, placed two tumblers of whiskey before them, retreating to the quiet management of his bar, a respectful spectator to the unfolding interplay. “So,” she said, raising her glass, “what brings you to our dear city?” Daniel hesitated, leaning back to absorb the well-timed question. “Business,” he said, and although his tone was casual, it conveyed more depth than the word usually carried. “Still art dealing?” she pressed lightly, her curiosity a testament to the artful dance they’d played in their youth—each question, every word a step toward an old dance reinterpreted. “Here and there,” he nodded, sipping his drink, the burn of liquor not strong enough to mask the undercurrent of past pursuits. “You could say I’m exploring new markets.” Despite the mundanity of the phrase, Rory understood the labyrinth of motives and meanings Daniel often wandered. Theirs was a world where 'business' tread in shadows, accompanied by rumors and well-guarded truths. “And you’re laying low,” he said, signaling his awareness of her circumstances. “Running deliveries instead of cases.” “A case of being where I need to be less noticed,” she replied, echoing the unspoken understanding that often flowed between them. “Sometimes you need to choose the path you didn't expect to walk.” They sat in silence for a moment, listening to the quiet murmur of voices around them, the familiarization of the unknown spaces filling the voids. Each silence a history, every smile a reminder. Daniel turned to her, a question flickering in his gaze. “Do you ever miss the life that might’ve been?” Rory considered this, the question hanging heavily in the low-lit air. “Sometimes,” she admitted, finding the honesty in herself that matched his expectation. “But I think it’s not the life we miss—it's the simplicity of a time when that life seemed possible.” “Or the simplicity of not knowing?” His voice was soft, almost introspective—the theoretical tension of regret stretched between them. “Maybe.” She traced the rim of her glass with a fingertip. “I’ve learned not to dwell too much on roads not taken.” “Likewise,” he replied, nodding as if her words accorded with his uncharted reflections. Silas returned briefly, clearing away empty glasses with the ease of familiar curiosity held at bay. He seemed, somehow, to be part of the unfolding dialogue—an arbiter of this re-discovery and the unforeseen reconciliation in its many layers. As the evening drew on, Rory and Daniel talked and drank under the watchful eye of the bar’s patrons, spinning tales that threaded through their past and into their present. The conversation flowed around regrets acknowledged but not examined too closely, a knot of shared history gently untangling. Eventually, as the hour grew late and the soft hum of the bar hushed further, Daniel leaned across the small space separating them. The warmth of shared remembrance and camaraderie lingered like a benevolent specter as he softly said, “I hope we don't let another decade pass before the next drink.” Rory met his gaze, seeing not just an old friend but also the altered, raw presence time carved beside her own changes. “Next time,” she agreed, knowing full well the path to that promise involved a weave of intention stronger than chance. Their glasses clinked together softly, a toast to what had been and what might yet be—two old friends anchored in a bar steeped in history, at the fulcrum of past and future, with Silas as their quiet witness. The threads of what was and what never could be rested with them, settled patiently among the secrets of the Raven's Nest.
created_at"2026-02-17T02:19:47.34674+00:00" 2/17/2026, 2:19:47 AM
model"openai/gpt-4o-2024-08-06"
app_id182717
external_user(null)
streamedtrue
cancelledfalse
latency1456
moderation_latency(null)
generation_time19135
tokens_prompt867
tokens_completion2011
native_tokens_prompt809
native_tokens_completion1618
native_tokens_completion_images(null)
native_tokens_reasoning0
native_tokens_cached0
num_media_prompt(null)
num_input_audio_prompt(null)
num_media_completion0
num_search_results(null)
origin"https://ncbench.com/"
is_byokfalse
finish_reason"stop"
native_finish_reason"stop"
usage0.0182025
router(null)
provider_responses
0
id"chatcmpl-DA4yNIqnyhdpLcUspe7JlkhPI1seW"
status200
is_byokfalse
latency376
endpoint_id"59ea8d2a-1b1b-47f1-83de-a358a724caeb"
provider_name"Azure"
model_permaslug"openai/gpt-4o-2024-08-06"
api_type"completions"
id"gen-1771294767-4Vo6isL76YkrLLtGmME7"
upstream_id"chatcmpl-DA4yNIqnyhdpLcUspe7JlkhPI1seW"
total_cost0.0182025
cache_discount(null)
upstream_inference_cost0
provider_name"Azure"

Evaluation details

Result Evaluator Details Meta Data
5.1282% Adverbs in dialogue tags
Target: ≤10% dialogue tags with adverbs
totalTags13
adverbTagCount5
adverbTags
0"he said, and although his tone was casual, it conveyed more depth than the word usually carried [more usually]"
1"he nodded, sipping his drink, the burn of liquor not strong enough to mask the undercurrent of past pursuits [enough]"
2"she replied, echoing the unspoken understanding that often flowed between them [often]"
3"The warmth of shared remembrance and camaraderie lingered like a benevolent specter as he softly said, [like softly]"
4"she agreed, knowing full well the path to that promise involved a weave of intention stronger than chance [well]"
44.8819% AI-ism adverb frequency
Target: <1% AI-ism adverbs (57 tracked)
wordCount1270
totalAiIsmAdverbs7
found
0
adverb"gently"
count1
1
adverb"lightly"
count1
2
adverb"slightly"
count1
3
adverb"slowly"
count1
4
adverb"softly"
count3
highlights
0"gently"
1"lightly"
2"slightly"
3"slowly"
4"softly"
100.0000% AI-ism character names
Target: 0 AI-default names (16 tracked, −20% each)
codexExemptions
0"Blackwood"
found(empty)
100.0000% AI-ism location names
Target: 0 AI-default location names (33 tracked, −20% each)
codexExemptions(empty)
found(empty)
21.2598% AI-ism word frequency
Target: <1% AI-ism words (140 tracked)
wordCount1270
totalAiIsms10
found
0
word"testament"
count1
1
word"facade"
count1
2
word"sentinel"
count1
3
word"unspoken"
count1
4
word"newfound"
count1
5
word"weight"
count1
6
word"dance"
count2
7
word"echoes"
count1
8
word"echoing"
count1
highlights
0"testament"
1"facade"
2"sentinel"
3"unspoken"
4"newfound"
5"weight"
6"dance"
7"echoes"
8"echoing"
100.0000% Cliche density
Target: ≤1 cliche(s) per 800-word window
totalCliches0
maxInWindow0
found(empty)
highlights(empty)
100.0000% Emotion telling (show vs. tell)
Target: ≤3% sentences with emotion telling
emotionTells0
narrationSentences62
matches(empty)
100.0000% Filter word density
Target: ≤12% sentences with filter/hedge words
filterCount0
hedgeCount0
narrationSentences62
filterMatches(empty)
hedgeMatches(empty)
100.0000% Overuse of "that" (subordinate clause padding)
Target: ≤10% sentences with "that" clauses
thatCount0
totalSentences73
matches(empty)
100.0000% Paragraph length variance
Target: CV ≥0.5 for paragraph word counts
totalParagraphs36
mean35
std18.44
cv0.527
sampleLengths
079
165
277
330
437
558
62
771
811
927
1022
1121
1227
1337
1424
1533
1625
1746
1813
1927
2029
2129
2232
2317
2434
2533
2619
2742
2819
2922
3013
3138
3248
3351
3442
3560
100.0000% Passive voice overuse
Target: ≤5% passive sentences
passiveCount3
totalSentences62
matches
0"was interrupted"
1"was unexpected"
2"were, slumped"
100.0000% Past progressive (was/were + -ing) overuse
Target: ≤10% past progressive verbs
pastProgressiveCount0
totalVerbs168
matches(empty)
100.0000% Purple prose (modifier overload)
Target: <4% adverbs, <2% -ly adverbs, no adj stacking
wordCount1098
adjectiveStacks0
stackExamples(empty)
adverbCount42
adverbRatio0.03825136612021858
lyAdverbCount18
lyAdverbRatio0.01639344262295082
100.0000% Repeated phrase echo
Target: ≤20% sentences with echoes (window: 2)
totalSentences73
echoCount0
echoWords(empty)
100.0000% Sentence length variance
Target: CV ≥0.4 for sentence word counts
totalSentences73
mean17.26
std7.56
cv0.438
sampleLengths
022
122
235
321
427
517
611
722
817
927
1027
113
1212
1325
1418
1515
1625
172
1814
1913
2023
2121
2211
239
2417
251
2622
2721
2820
297
3013
3124
3211
3313
349
3517
367
3725
3821
3925
4013
419
4218
4329
4422
457
4617
4715
4812
495
95.4338% Sentence opener variety
Target: ≥60% unique sentence openers
consecutiveRepeats2
diversityRatio0.589041095890411
totalSentences73
uniqueOpeners43
0.0000% Dialogue tag variety (said vs. fancy)
Target: ≤30% fancy dialogue tags
totalTags13
fancyCount12
fancyTags
0"he greeted her in a voice as smooth as the whiskey he dispensed, the warmth in his hazel eyes offset by the coolness of their surroundings (greet dispense, offset)"
1"she replied, a gentle jest coloring her observation (reply, coloring)"
2"she said, raising her glass (say, raise)"
3"he said, and although his tone was casual, it conveyed more depth than the word usually carried (say, be more depth usually carry)"
4"pressed (pressed)"
5"he nodded, sipping his drink, the burn of liquor not strong enough to mask the undercurrent of past pursuits (nod, sip mask)"
6"he said, signaling his awareness of her circumstances (say, signal)"
7"she replied, echoing the unspoken understanding that often flowed between them (reply, echo often flow)"
8"she admitted, finding the honesty in herself that matched his expectation (admit, find match)"
9"he replied, nodding as if her words accorded with his uncharted reflections (reply, nod accord)"
10"The warmth of shared remembrance and camaraderie lingered like a benevolent specter as he softly said, (linger like softly say)"
11"she agreed, knowing full well the path to that promise involved a weave of intention stronger than chance (agree, involve)"
80.3943%